A THRIFTY pair of university friends decided that, instead of travelling by train 200 miles across Britain, it would be cheaper to meet up on Spain’s Costa del Sol.

Two university friends discovered it was cheaper to meet up in Spain than in Britain

Lucy Walker, 27, planned to travel by rail from her home in Newcastle to Birmingham to see her ex-housemate Zara Quli, but was shocked to learn the return trip would cost £105.

The English language teacher did a quick online search, which revealed that she could make a 2,700-mile round-trip to Malaga for less than £20 return.

Charity worker Zara, 26, had to pay a little more, but at just under £60 for a return flight the cost for both of them still worked out almost £30 less than a single rail ticket.

NORTH NEWS

Lucy paid £9.99 each way for her tickets with Ryanair

Trying to travel last minute in the UK is always such a kick in the teeth, because they put such a big premium on it

Lucy Walker

The pair were reunited in Malaga last Saturday and spent three nights enjoying the 20C weather in the south of Spain while Britain shivered.

Former Nottingham University student Lucy said: “Trying to travel last minute in the UK is always such a kick in the teeth, because they put such a big premium on it. There are always these last-minute deals for flights and so we just checked for a better deal.

“We realised it was cheaper for the both of us to go to Malaga instead.

NORTH NEWS

Zara, left, paid £57.98 to go with Spanish-airline Vueling

“I try to be environmentally friendly, so it is not something I would normally do but the train is so expensive and this was just so much cheaper.”

Lucy paid £9.99 each way for her tickets with Ryanair. Zara paid £57.98 to go with Spanish-airline Vueling.

Lucy added: “It was more expensive to check a bag in than the cost of the tickets. You get quite a generous hand luggage allowance, though, so we didn’t even need to.”

Top 10 travel destinations for 2017

Thu, December 8, 2016

Holiday inspiration: These are going to be the top 10 destinations to travel to in 2017.

The pair spent two nights in a budget £10-a-night hostel then travelled to Granada where they stayed for one night in a hotel for £11 each. Lucy added: “It works out a lot cheaper when you go out for a drink, too. The law in Granada is they have to bring you tapas when you order drinks.

“By the time you are on your third drink they start to bring out prawns and things. We had a lovely time.”